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Dublin, GA, October 11, 2016 –Dublin-Laurens County was chosen as the International Community of the Year by the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Thursday, October 6, 2016 at the Atlanta History Center. The award recognizes a municipality, county or regional entity in Georgia that has gone above and beyond to promote international business in that community.

In the past five years, the Dublin-Laurens County Development Authority has been successful in locating five international companies representing four different countries- Denmark, Germany, Latvia, and Israel. Initially, YKK AP, a Japanese-based company, located in Dublin-Laurens County over twenty-five years ago and has had multiple expansions. The combined six international companies have either created or are on track to create an estimated 1,480 new jobs. The community has welcomed these international companies and their cultures- from workforce training, transitional services and holiday celebrations.

“The wonderful cooperative spirit among our elected officials, citizens, business community, and our Development Authority has been instrumental in our success”, said Development Authority Chairman Roger Folsom.

The Dublin-Laurens County Development Authority facilitated partnerships between each of the new companies and many local and state entities such as the Oconee Fall Technical College, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Department of Labor, Jobs Training Unlimited, and many others with relocation, training, financing, and housing needs. The Oconee Fall Line Technical College and the Heart of Georgia College & Career Academy have partnered with some of these companies to assist them with meeting their customized skilled workforce requirements through the development of customized apprentice/training programs. The technical college has even traveled to Latvia on multiple occasions to analyze Valmiera Glass’ training and curriculum program in order to administer training programs on their Dublin campus. The Chronicle also noted the work of the Dublin City Schools system and the International Baccalaureate program promoting intercultural understanding and global academic standards.

Dublin-Laurens County has a very active and engaged International Committee. For the past twenty years, the City of Dublin and Osaki City in Japan have had a sister-city covenant which has allowed eighteen groups from both cities to participate in an exchange program. The first visit of Japanese students and chaperones visited Dublin in August of 1999 with the most recent visit in April of 2016.

In 2015, the community started an annual German-themed Christmas festival to celebrate German customs and pay tribute to the German investment here. The event was a success and is scheduled to attract visitors from all over Middle Georgia in 2016.

“I am not articulate enough in two minutes to tell you what this award means to a small community in rural Georgia,” Authority President Brad Lofton told the audience in accepting the award. “These companies have changed our community in a very positive way by creating new jobs, increasing skill sets into our workforce, and enhancing our cultural diversity. We are proud that these six companies chose to locate in our community as they have made a generational impact on our economy and our citizens.”

Members of the staff of the Georgia Department of Economic Development attended the event. The Department has assisted the community aggressively in the recruitment of all six international companies.

About DLCDA
The Dublin-Laurens County Development Authority is a publicly funded economic development organization with the mission of providing industrial recruitment efforts, and promoting and supporting existing industries in Dublin-Laurens County. Over the past five years, the DLCDA has participated in the creation of over 1,592 new jobs with a corresponding capital investment of $280 million. The Authority has also assisted with key expansions with a number of existing industries. The DLCDA Board consists of Roger Folsom, Chairman; Phil Gay, Vice-Chairman; James Malone, Secretary/Treasurer; Jimmy Allgood, Scott Beasley, Guy Cochran, and Keith Griffin.